Moravian Daily Texts North American Version - Did you know?
The 2009 Moravian Daily Texts arrived promptly in mid-October and have worked their way into Christian households throughout the United States, Canada, and beyond! This little book that is a tradition of the Moravian Church has a large behind the scenes production.
While the story of how the Old Testament verses (watchwords) are drawn from the silver bowl in Germany and the New Testament verses (doctrinal texts) are chosen to relate to the Old Testament verse has been told since the time of Zinzendorf, there are probably many “unknown” facts about the Daily Texts that are quite fun to share.
The Interprovincial Board of Communication (IBOC) receives the Old and New Testament verses each July straight from Germany. They arrive in German. For example, we received the verses for the 2010 version of the Daily Texts in July of 2008, and while that sounds like a long time ahead, the work begins promptly because the multitude of steps required to publish this book take in excess of a year to complete.
The German verses are handed over to a translator who carefully and lovingly translates every verse into English. These English verses are turned over to the IBOC where lectionary readings are added to each Sunday, and each day of the week (Monday through Saturday) receives the addition of Psalm readings and daily Bible readings. If these readings are done each day, the reader will work their way through the Psalms in one year and the entire Bible in two years. Also added are readings for special Moravian and other religious holidays such as John Hus Festival, August Thirteenth Festival, and All Saints Day.
Once all of these items are compiled, they are sent off to the writers who choose hymns and author a prayer based on the verses chosen in Germany for each day. Just who are the writers? That is one of the most interesting aspects of the Daily Texts, North American version. Each month is written by a different individual or couple or even small group. The writers are carefully chosen to represent all areas of the Northern and Southern Provinces taking into consideration rural and urban writers, writers from each district, writers of different genders and ages, and writers of both lay and clergy backgrounds. The individuals chosen for the 12 months are special and bring their own style and faith journey to the pages of each day of devotion. The reasoning behind having so many individuals contributing their talent is so that each month speaks differently and perhaps personally to the reader. Because the words of the prayers are so lovingly put together, the writer is never revealed, so that the words on the page speak without any personality tied to them. If you’ve ever wondered why one month spoke to you more than another, you now know why!
After working on the hymns and prayers for the three months they are given to complete their work, many writers reveal to us that this task becomes one of spiritual fulfillment and enlightenment for them and oftentimes, that fact shines through in the prayers.
In addition to sending out the verses to the writers, the English translations are also sent to over 30 translators all over the world who have requested to receive them in English to be translated into their own language for publication. This means the IBOC becomes the hub for the distribution of good quality English translations of these very important texts! What an exciting way for the North American Moravian church to be a part of the worldwide Unity!
Each Province through the world has their own way of doing the Daily Texts. The Old and New Testament verses are what is consistent — just as in the days of Zinzendorf. The most beautiful fact is that Christians all over the world share the same words from God every day meaning that readers are sharing a time of devotion with others even if they are alone in the room.
It’s always an exciting day when the Daily Texts arrive at the IBOC office from the printer. The 20,000 books in different versions including paperback, hard cover, large print, journal, and flip calendar along with the separate publication of the Directory and Statistics arrive at the small office on as many as 13 pallets. Many hands and muscles aid us in getting the books in through the doors only to have them go right back out again to all areas of the world including the Virgin Islands, Germany, New Zealand, Korea, Guyana, and more. Recipients of the books are from all walks of life and from a variety of denominational backgrounds including Lutheran, United Methodist, Episcopalian, and Brethren, to name just a few.
You may get your Daily Texts from your local Moravian congregation, but they originate from the IBOC office. This project is by far our most time consuming and thrilling event. A lot of hard work and care goes into the publication, and we enjoy the final product every day at our own daily devotion period held at the Moravian Church Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It is amazing how after preparing the books just short of two years in advance of when they are used, each day of devotion “speaks” to the events of that day, or to what is going on in each individual life they touch. This truly is a work of God, God speaking to each of us each day, giving us a moment to reflect on God’s word in our busy lives.
What a blessing to be able to be part of God’s work through the Daily Texts!
